Kylie A. Pitt

Griffith University

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Robert H. Condon

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Cathy H. Lucas

National Oceanography Centre

Carlos M. Duarte

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Rod M. Connolly

Griffith University

David T. Welsh

Griffith University

David Rissik

Griffith University

Kelly L. Robinson

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Mario Lebrato

Kiel University

Michael J. Kingsford

James Cook University

William M. Graham

Dauphin Island Sea Lab

Cooperative Institutions

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Griffith University

University of Queensland

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Institut de Ciències del Mar

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

National Oceanography Centre

University of Southampton

University of California, Santa Barbara

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

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Questioning the Rise of Gelatinous Zooplankton in the World's Oceans

BioScience (2012)

Robert H. Condon William M. Graham Carlos M. Duarte Kylie A. Pitt Cathy H. Lucas

During the past several decades, high numbers of gelatinous zooplankton species have been reported in many estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Coupled with media-driven public perception, a paradigm has evolved in which the global ocean ecosystems are thought to be heading toward being dominated by “nuisance” jellyfish. We question this current paradigm by presenting a broad overview of gelatinous zooplankton in a historical context to develop the hypothesis that population changes reflect the human-mediated alteration of global ocean ecosystems. To this end, we synthesize information related to the evolutionary context of contemporary gelatinous zooplankton blooms, the human frame of reference for changes in gelatinous zooplankton populations, and whether sufficient data are available to have established the paradigm. We conclude that the current paradigm in which it is believed that there has been a global increase in gelatinous zooplankton is unsubstantiated, and we develop a strategy for addressing the critical questions about long-term, human-related changes in the sea as they relate to gelatinous zooplankton blooms.

Gelatinous zooplankton

Marine ecosystem

Historical Ecology

10.1525/bio.2012.62.2.9

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Citations (314)

Predation by jellyfish on large and emergent zooplankton: Implications for benthic–pelagic coupling

Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science (2007)

Kylie A. Pitt Anne-Laure Clement Rod M. Connolly Delphine Thibault

Gelatinous zooplankton

Scyphozoa

Demersal zone

Demersal fish

10.1016/j.ecss.2007.08.011

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Citations (80)

Population-level perspectives on global change: genetic and demographic analyses indicate various scales, timing, and causes of scyphozoan jellyfish blooms

Biological Invasions (2014)

Michael N Dawson Kristin Cieciel Mary Beth Decker Graeme C. Hays Cathy H. Lucas

Scyphozoa

Environmental change

10.1007/s10530-014-0732-z

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Citations (42)

Jelly-falls historic and recent observations: a review to drive future research directions

Hydrobiologia (2012)

Mario Lebrato Kylie A. Pitt Andrew K. Sweetman Daniel O. B. Jones Joan Enric Cartes

Gelatinous zooplankton

Marine ecosystem

Spring bloom

10.1007/s10750-012-1046-8

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Citations (96)

Marine reserves help coastal ecosystems cope with extreme weather

Global Change Biology (2014)

Andrew D. Olds Kylie A. Pitt Paul Maxwell Russell C. Babcock David Rissik

Abstract Natural ecosystems have experienced widespread degradation due to human activities. Consequently, enhancing resilience has become a primary objective for conservation. Nature reserves are a favored management tool, but we need clearer empirical tests of whether they can impart resilience. Catastrophic flooding in early 2011 impacted coastal ecosystems across eastern Australia. We demonstrate that marine reserves enhanced the capacity of coral reefs to withstand flood impacts. Reserve reefs resisted the impact of perturbation, whilst fished reefs did not. Changes on fished reefs were correlated with the magnitude of flood impact, whereas variation on reserve reefs was related to ecological variables. Herbivory and coral recruitment are critical ecological processes that underpin reef resilience, and were greater in reserves and further enhanced on reserve reefs near mangroves. The capacity of reserves to mitigate external disturbances and promote ecological resilience will be critical to resisting an increased frequency of climate‐related disturbance.

Marine reserve

Ecological resilience

Marine ecosystem

Coral reef organizations

10.1111/gcb.12606

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Citations (63)

Influence of jellyfish blooms on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling and plankton production

Springer eBooks (2008)

Kylie A. Pitt David T. Welsh Robert H. Condon

Bacterioplankton

Nutrient cycle

10.1007/978-1-4020-9749-2_10

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Citations (12)

Contrasting contributions to inorganic nutrient recycling by the co-occurring jellyfishes, Catostylus mosaicus and Phyllorhiza punctata (Scyphozoa, Rhizostomeae)

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (2004)

Kylie A. Pitt K. Koop David Rissik

Zooxanthellae

Scyphozoa

10.1016/j.jembe.2004.09.007

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Citations (56)

Surviving but not thriving: inconsistent responses of zooxanthellate jellyfish polyps to ocean warming and future UV-B scenarios

Scientific Reports (2016)

Shannon G. Klein Kylie A. Pitt Anthony R. Carroll

Abstract Complex changes to UV radiation at the Earth’s surface are occurring concurrently with ocean warming. Despite few empirical tests, jellyfish are hypothesised to be increasing in some parts of the world because they are robust to environmental stressors. Here we examine the effects of UV-B and ocean warming projections on zooxanthellate jellyfish polyps. We exposed Cassiopea sp. polyps to three levels of UV-B (future-low (1.43 Wm 2 ), current (1.60 Wm 2 ), future-high (1.77 Wm 2 )) and two levels of temperature (current-day (25 °C) and future (28 °C)) over 6 weeks. The intensity of UV-B was varied throughout the day to mimic diel variation in UV-B irradiance. Polyp survival, asexual reproduction and YII were measured. In the current and future-high UV-B treatments, more polyps were produced in 25 °C than 28 °C. This pattern, however, was reversed under future-low UV-B conditions, where more polyps were produced at 28 °C. YII was highest under current summer conditions and future conditions of low UV-B and increased temperature. YII, however, was reduced under high UV-B conditions but was further reduced with warming. Our results suggest that although Cassiopea polyps may survive elevated UV-B and warming conditions, they are unlikely to thrive. If, however, UV-B radiation decreases then ocean warming may facilitate increases in Cassiopea populations.

10.1038/srep28859

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Citations (23)

Exploring the paradigm of a global expansion in jellyfish blooms: implications for biogeochemical cycles and food webs in a changing ocean

Robert H. Condon Kylie A. Pitt Carlos M. Duarte William M. Graham Cathy H. Lucas

Biogeochemical Cycle

Source

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What's in a jellyfish? Proximate and elemental composition and biometric relationships for use in biogeochemical studies

Ecology (2011)

Cathy H. Lucas Kylie A. Pitt Jennifer E. Purcell Mario Lebrato Robert H. Condon

Many marine organisms have gelatinous bodies, but the trait is most common in the medusae (phylum Cnidaria), ctenophores (phylum Ctenophora), and the pelagic tunicates (phylum Chordata, class Thaliacea). Although there are taxonomic and trophic differences between the thaliaceans and the other two closely related phyla, the collective term "jellyfish" has been used within the framework of this article. Because of the apparent increase in bloom events, jellyfish are receiving greater attention from the wider marine science community. Questions being posed include: (1) what is the role of jellyfish in pelagic food webs in a changing environment, and (2) what is the role of jellyfish in large-scale biogeochemical processes such as the biological carbon pump? In order to answer such questions, fundamental data on body composition and biomass are required. The purpose of this data set was to compile proximate and elemental body composition and length–mass and mass–mass regressions for jellyfish (i.e., medusae, siphonophores, ctenophores, salps, doliolids, and pyrosomes) to serve as a baseline data set informing studies on biogeochemical cycling, food web dynamics, and ecosystem modeling, as well as physiology. Using mainly published data from 1932 to 2010, we have assembled three data sets: (1) body composition (wet, dry, and ash-free dry mass, C, N, P as a percentage of wet and dry mass, and C:N), (2) length–mass biometric equations, and (3) mass–mass biometric equations. The data sets represent a total of 102 species from six classes (20 Thaliacea, 2 Cubozoa, 33 Hydrozoa, 26 Scyphozoa, 17 Tentaculata, 4 Nuda) in three phyla. Where it exists, we have included supplementary data on location, salinity, whole animal or tissue type, measured size range, and where appropriate, the regression type with values of sample size, correlation coefficients (r, r2) and level of significance for the relationship. In addition to the raw unpublished data, we have provided summary tables of mean (±SD) body composition for the main taxonomic groups. The complete data sets corresponding to abstracts published in the Data Papers section of the journal are published electronically in Ecological Archives at 〈http://esapubs.org/archive〉. (The accession number for each Data Paper is given directly beneath the title.)

Scyphozoa

Biogeochemical Cycle

Hydrozoa

Gelatinous zooplankton

Aurelia aurita

10.1890/11-0302.1

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Citations (74)